This was posted by my son Ken Conoly. She passed last week at age 86. Let me introduce you to my Nanny - My maternal grandmother, Billie Reaves Hanner was known to all as “Nanny”. All of my friends from school, college and various jobs knew her only as “Nanny” because that is what she wanted to be called. If you called her Nanny then you were immediately accepted as one of her own. I have a lot of wonderful memories of my times spent with her and my Grandfather, Robert Neil Hanner, Jr. aka “Pops”. Nanny & Pops… The weekend that school let out in June, through July, until 2 weeks before school started back in August, my brothers and I were at Nanny & Pops’. No summer camps for us. This was the regular schedule from the time I finished the 1st grade until high school. As a youngster, Nanny & Pops lived on Wrightsville Beach. It goes without saying that this was a great place to spend a summer break! Nanny taught me how to swim in the sound in front of the Blockade Runner Hotel. Pops taught me how to fish from Johnny Mercer’s Pier. I went trolling off shore for Spanish mackerel from Pops’ boat. Pops was a Major with a full-time role in NC Army National Guard. His office was near New Hanover County Airport. I recall going to work with him one day and discovered wild blackberries growing by the barracks. I collected a bunch and took them to Nanny. She then took a couple of pot pie tins she had in the kitchen and proceeded to bake me 2 little blackberry pies. MMMmmm… Pops was later reassigned to a unit in Elizabethtown. Even though the location changed, the schedule stayed the same – summers with Nanny & Pops. Nanny’s new friends allowed her to work in their fields. We grand-kids, picked & harvested, shelled & shucked and then canned all types of vegetables. Nanny would drive us to nearby White Lake as our reward for this hard work. Instead of fishing, Pops taught us to hunt deer, rabbits & squirrels. Later on, Pops’ dad, Robert Neil Hanner, Sr. – aka Papa – came to live with Nanny & Pops. He couldn’t drive anymore so his car, a 1950’s Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door sedan with “3-on-the-tree” sat in the yard. Many of Nanny & Pops 9 grand-kids learned to drive in Papa’s car; up & down the dirt roads around their house. That was always the first order of business when my brothers & I arrived for the summer – to get Papa’s car running! We worked around the house doing chores and clearing the yard to earn gas money for it. After a few summers, there weren’t any brakes left on the car. I’m surprised that none of us wound up driving through the house or into Cape Fear River! Nanny & Pops were like rock stars in Elizabethtown – EVERYONE knew them! And everyone LOVED them! As a child at Christmas, we were always celebrating at Nanny & Pops’. Santa Claus was able to find his way to Wrightsville Beach or Elizabethtown on a few Christmas mornings when my family would arrive on Christmas Eve to spend the night. I recall lots of love and laughter on those Christmas mornings. Pops always gave Nanny a glamorous nightgown & matching robe (among other things). Nanny always prepared a delicious Christmas spread. When they moved to Elizabethtown, the meal would sometimes include venison. If you tried it, you never would know you were eating it. I recall Papa once commenting on how well the Christmas meal tasted. Nanny thanked him and told him it was venison. Papa said, “It can’t be; I don’t like venison.” Celebrating Christmas at Nanny & Pops’ was the tradition until I was about 15. It was about then that my mother, her sister and brother began a rotation to host the Hanner Christmas. In 1995 when Peg & I bought our house, we got into the rotation to host the Hanner Christmas. Nanny had a history of heart issues. She flat lined during one heart procedure but was revived and lived for many years after that. More recently, she flat lined again. The hospital was not aware of the DNR so she was revived once more. And thankfully so because one of my most enduring memories is that of my 84-year old Nanny riding a Razor up and down the street during Thanksgiving just 2 years ago! She was quite a lady! I love you Nanny. To say “I will miss you” is an understatement. Thank you for all the wonderful memories and life’s lessons you and Pops taught me.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 01:20:16 +0000
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